Ram raid at Takapuna vape shop as businesses struggle to get bollards installed

A shop owner near the scene of an overnight ram raid in Auckland says businesses have been trying to get bollards installed for months.

Police were called at about 1am on Saturday to My Blitz vape shop in Takapuna, when a car rammed into the entrance.

It was the second time the shop had been targeted.

The owner of a nearby cafe said the store was still recovering from a previous raid and its door had not been fixed from a ram raid that occurred there a couple of months ago.

The ram raids were scary for the community and may put people off shopping, he said.

The man said businesses in the area had been asking for bollards but so far nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, a liquor store owner near the scene of the overnight ram said he was also robbed by youths yesterday afternoon.

Thirsty Liquor Takapuna owner John Jiang said two youths robbed his store wearing balaclavas on Friday afternoon.

One of them came into the shop, grabbed merchandise and then ran away while the other stood watch outside, he said.

Jiang estimated the pair would have been 12 to 15 years old.

Jiang said the proximity of the crimes and the type of offenders made it seem like more than a coincidence.